The owners of Holmes Rental Station have built the company by focusing on customer service—providing reliable equipment with on-time delivery—while meeting the needs of a wide-ranging clientele.
And when it comes to reliable equipment, company founder Henry Beachy has a hard time naming anything more reliable than Takeuchi equipment. “I had heard ‘If you use Takeuchi, you’ll never use another brand,’ and I can understand why. Takeuchi machines are very tight. The wear points weather extremely well, compared to Bobcat and other competitive brands. We’ve had no issues at all,” he said.
Holmes Rental Station has seven Takeuchi machines in its rental fleet. It rents TB016, TB235and TB285 model mini-excavators as well as a TL230 track loader. The company owns just one track loader but plans to buy a second, said Jason Beachy, Henry’s son and manager of the Holmes Rental Station in Sugarcreek.
The machines are in high demand among customers. Jason estimated that the machines are out on a customer’s job site more than 75 percent of the time.
Contractors, the biggest portion of Holmes’ clientele, give a variety of reasons for liking the Takeuchi equipment. “I’ve been around equipment—as operator, equipment supervisor and owner—for over 35 years. Everything from mining to light construction,” said Ben Erb, a pond-installation specialist, who owns The Pond Guy. “Takeuchis are well engineered, have excellent power for the class, and are fast. The cabs are roomy, comfortable and offer excellent visibility. For its size, the TB285 also has excellent reach compared to CAT and Deere models. Accessibility for service and a nice push-blade design also make this machine really operator friendly.”
Holmes Rental Station also has a significant number of DIYers among its customers, and they like the Takeuchi equipment due to ease of operation. With just a little instruction from a Holmes employee, DIYers can operate the equipment easily, Jason said.
The Beachys cite other Takeuchi benefits too, from competitive pricing to ease of servicing the machines. “We love how serviceable the Takeuchis are. The tilt-cab means engine access, changing hoses, etc., is very user-friendly,” Henry noted. “I have to say, Takeuchi financing have also been great to work with. I give them a five-star rating—they have treated us very well.”
With their high rental rate, the Takeuchis are operated a lot of hours per year, Jason noted, but they are up to the challenge. “From the mechanical standpoint, there are virtually no breakdowns on these machines. They just require routine maintenance.” Holmes Rental Station has been handling Takeuchi equipment since 2003.
The rental house became a Columbus Equipment customer in 2011, when the dealership added Takeuchi to its product lineup in Ohio. The relationship has been positive, Jason said. “The dealer support is very good. Paul Stevens is our sales rep, and he stays on top of things. He always returns phone calls, he does well on follow-up and makes sure that any problem is taken care of.” Since the relationship has been established, Holmes Rental Station has also purchased other bands of equipment from Columbus Equipment.
“We’ve found parts availability from Columbus Equipment to be excellent,” he added.
Henry, who was previously a farmer, started Holmes Rental Station in 1997, opening his first store in Sugarcreek. “At the time, there was an open market here,” Jason said. “The former rental company in this county [Holmes] had closed their doors.” In 2001, the company expanded to open a second store in Millersburg. Jason’s brother Nate is the manager at that location.
Originally the company catered mostly to homeowners. As the list of tools and equipment available for rent expanded, the stores began attracting more contractors, including landscapers and construction companies. Holmes’ market in east central Ohio also includes agricultural and industrial customers. “Another market we are starting to get into is the gas and oil industry, which is developing in this area,” Jason noted.
While none of the big-name rental companies have stores in the area, “we still compete with them on commercial jobs,” he added. In addition to providing reliable equipment like Takeuchi, the company maintains its market share by servicing all the brands it rents and sells. Along with construction equipment, the rental house equips customers with items ranging from heating and cooling equipment to scaffolding and aerial lifts to lawn equipment.
